Overview

• The Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan notified the shutdown and directed that camp land be handed to the provincial government and district deputy commissioners.
• Officials said the five sites include three camps in Haripur, one in Chitral and one in Upper Dir; Haripur’s Panian camp previously hosted more than 100,000 people.
• Islamabad has tied the repatriation drive to security concerns, and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif this week linked Afghan refugees to terrorism in Balochistan and K-P.
• K-P Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur opposes forced returns, while Balochistan’s Mir Sarfraz Bugti pledged gradual, humane repatriation in coordination with UNHCR and Afghan consular officials.
• UNHCR reports some 2.6 million Afghans returned from neighbouring countries this year, including more than 554,000 from Pakistan since April, and warns of a growing ‘crisis within a crisis’ for returnees.